Janine’s LOCKDOWN jam tarts

Cooking for the troops: your cupboards may be bare, but with any luck you will have enough staples left for Janine and Sarah’s quick and easy recipes.

Ingredients

Makes 18

170g (6 oz) plain flour

Pinch of salt

85g (3 oz) soft butter

1.5 tablespoons cold water

Jam

marg/butter for greasing the tins

Method

• Heat oven to 200C

• Tip flour and salt into a bowl

• Rub in butter with the tips of your fingers until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. (If you only have hard butter, let it come to room temperature and dice it before adding to the flour).

Rub in butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs

• Add sufficient cold water to give a stiff, dry dough mixing with a knife and then use your fingers to press it all together. When at the right consistency knead lightly and place the dough on to a floured surface. Do not over-flour because this will make your pastry hard and dry.

• Roll the pastry, turning quarter turn as necessary. If it starts sticking to the rolling pin, flour the top of the pastry lightly.

Roll out the pastry and cut out

• When at the right thickness, take a pastry cutter (or use an upside down cup) to cut out rounds and press gently into the wellgreased patty tin.

Place into well-greased pastry tin

• Add a teaspoon of jam to each one. Don’t put too much in because it bubbles up when cooking and will spill over the sides. I used blackcurrant as well as strawberry and Pimm’s (yes you heard right) because that was the only jam left in our house.

Add a teaspoon of jam to each pastry case

• If you have pieces of left over pastry you can cut strips for latticework on the top, or pastry leaves or hearts.

• Bake until the pastry is lightly brown.

• Allow to cool before removing from the tin and place on a plate to go cold before tucking in. Jam gets really hot when cooked so don’t be tempted to eat them too soon or you will burn your mouth. Rub in butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs Roll out the pastry and cut out Place into well-greased patty tin Add a teaspoon of jam to each pastry case

Let them cool before eating

Tip: If you don’t have patty tins, you can make a plate jam tart in the lid of an ovenproof glass Pyrex dish. Remember to grease it well before adding the pastry and jam. When cool add a layer of cold custard over the top and enjoy.